​The price of opportunism

​Twice in the last twelve months the Conservative government have called an entirely unnecessary and opportunistic national poll, and twice that hubris has resulted in humiliation for the government.

​This latest result ensures that whoever leads the divorce negotiations with Europe - which start in eleven days time - will have no mandate from the people; almost any outcome from those negotiations will be able to be challenged. The country is hopelessly split, and it is difficult not to envision yet another Prime Minister and another election within months.

It seems that my wishes to the new MP for Chelmsford - see previous post - have been unexpectedly fulfilled. Although it is impossible to suppress a little Schadenfreude over this outcome, the cost to the country will be enormous.